Thanksgiving Wine Picks: Red, Red, White

Wondering what to serve with your Thanksgiving meal? Leave it to Formaggio Kitchen’s wine buyers to handle those details for you! South End Wine Buyer, Julie Cappellano, and Cambridge Wine Buyer, Gemma Iannoni, have chosen three delicious wines that will save you the time and effort:

Molière ’11 Beaujolas Nouveau (Burgundy, France)

There aren’t many producers out there that go to the lengths that Bruno and Isabelle of Domaine des Côtes de la Molière do – they make biodynamic Beaujolais Nouveau without added sulfites! They conduct a patient, natural yeast fermentation that lasts around a week – for industrial producers it lasts a matter of hours, killing all of the delicate aromas. Then, Bruno and Isabelle allow their wine to rest in old foudre and stainless steel prior to its release at the end of the fall. Each year, Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Wednesday of November at midnight, a way of celebrating the fruits of this year’s harvest. Formaggio Kitchen likes to support wines like this one for its originality and a level quality that is much superior to that of its competitors. This wine is fragrant and fruity, redolent of wild berries with a faint herbal finish. Light, refreshing, and easy to drink, it makes for the perfect accompaniment to the traditional white meat and varied sides that are typical of Thanksgiving fare!

Roagna ’10 Dolcetto d’Alba (Piedmont, Italy)

For those looking for a little more strength and concentration in their red, yet with the same refreshing acidity, we recommend this tasty Dolcetto from Piedmont’s prestigious Alba growing region. It’s dark, zippy cherry fruit with subtle earthiness and slight bitterness beg for rich and satiating cuisine by its side – perfect for all of the succulent bounty that Turkey Day offers! Piedmont wines are naturally expected to compliment dense, rich dishes and therefore supply the acidity and minerality that prepare the palate for another bite. The Dolcetto grapes that the Roagna family uses for this wine are cultivated at the bottom of their cru Barbaresco vineyard that is southwest-facing. This fruit therefore receives that same privileged exposure, ensuring good ripeness and drinkability.

I Clivi ’10 Ribolla Gialla – Colli Orientali (Friuli, Italy)

Let’s face it, some folks are going to prefer to drink white wine with their meal on Thanksgiving and we’ve got that covered too! Exclusive to Formaggio Kitchen Cambridge and our South End location is this bright, zippy Ribolla Gialla from our friends Mario and Ferdinando Zanusso of Corno di Rosazzo, Italy. After harvesting three vintages with the Zanusso family, Gemma decided it would be exciting to put together a mixed pallet of wine just to meet the demand of our customers. This wine is electric in its freshness, acidity, and drinkability. Before the meal or alongside the meal, this wine will light up your palate. Why is it so good? The grapes are from a remote, steeply-sloping vineyard with old vines. This means that in order coax out the statement this fruit is capable of making, the Zanussos press the grapes ever so gently, akin to the pressure applied in making Champagne, giving them only the fior di fiori as must. They ferment in stainless steel with lees contact of six months to give complexity and subtle richness to the wine. Don’t miss out on a glass (or a bottle!) of this. Please note: this wine arrives on Monday, November 21. Our six pack selection will include a substitute white until the I Clivi arrives.

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These wines are available in handy six-packs at both our Cambridge (617-354-4750) and South End (617-350-6996) locations. Each pack contains two bottles of each of the three wines. Customers receive 10% off the cost of buying the wines separately.